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Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe presides over a student graduation ceremony on the outskirts of Harare, Zimbabwe, on Nov. 17, 2017.Ben Curtis/The Associated Press

The scenes were extraordinary. On Zimbabwean state television, where Robert Mugabe has been glorified in turgid propaganda for decades, astonishing reports from across the country showed boisterous cheering and whooping by members of the ruling party as they demanded the President's retirement.

Those scenes spelled the unmistakable end of the Mugabe era. His own party has abandoned him, telling him to go into quiet retirement after a tumultuous 37-year reign.

When the Zimbabwean army launched its coup on Wednesday morning, Mr. Mugabe dug in his heels, refusing to step down. But by Friday night, the signals were overwhelming. Virtually every branch of the ruling party had turned against Mr. Mugabe and his unpopular wife, Grace. State television, long his loyal mouthpiece, was now broadcasting all the verbal attacks on him, at great length and in explicit detail.

The provincial branches, using similar language in their resolutions, said Mr. Mugabe should be "allowed to retire" peacefully and given the status of "elder statesman." Some branches said he was "too old" and "incapacitated" to lead the country.

But they also suggested that Mr. Mugabe could be "recalled" if he refuses to retire. This suggestion sparked noisy cheers and applause at some provincial branch meetings. Dozens of members danced in celebration at some meetings, singing songs against Mr. Mugabe or in favour of his rival, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was fired as vice-president last week.

A move to recall Mr. Mugabe could be the easiest solution to the dilemma of what to do with him if he remains unwilling to step down. The ruling ZANU-PF party already has a special congress scheduled for mid-December. At that conference, the party could simply choose a new leader.

But he is likely to be gone much sooner. If he refuses to step down in the next two or three days, Zimbabwe's Parliament will be asked to impeach him or approve a motion of no-confidence in him, according to several media reports.

While the provincial branches were relatively polite in their demands for Mr. Mugabe's retirement on Friday, they were much more vitriolic in their words about the faction known as G40, which is closely linked to Grace Mugabe and was strongly promoted by Mr. Mugabe in recent months.

Some of the branch resolutions described the G40 faction as an "evil cabal" whose members should be "expelled from the party and prosecuted." The army has already arrested and jailed several of G40's key leaders, and the branches made it clear that they endorsed this. Some of them made vague reference to unspecified "crimes." Others accused the faction of "infiltrating" the ruling party to "destroy it from within."

Mr. Mugabe, the 93-year-old veteran of the liberation struggle who led the former Rhodesia as it moved from white-minority rule into post-colonial democracy in 1980, remains the president of Zimbabwe for now. But the title is increasingly meaningless. All that remains is the detail of how he will leave and where he will retire – a subject that is believed to be under negotiation now.

In another blow to Mr. Mugabe, the military gave permission for a giant rally and march against him on Saturday. Tens of thousands of Zimbabweans are expected to attend.

The rally will include a wide range of groups: ruling-party members and war veterans who support the military, along with opposition party members and pro-democracy activists who will take advantage of the rare opportunity to demonstrate freely.

Under the Mugabe regime, most street protests have been routinely broken up by thuggish tactics from Zimbabwean police. But the toppling of Mr. Mugabe has brought an uncertain new era for this country, and many groups will be testing the new limits at the rally on Saturday.

In a statement, the Zimbabwean military said it would allow the rally as long as it remains "orderly, peaceful … within the confines of the country's Constitution and without hate speech and incitement to cause violence."

It called on the rally participants to be "disciplined" and to "return to their respective provinces" after the march.

Mr. Mugabe was placed under house arrest after the coup, but the army has attempted to preserve his dignity, referring to him consistently as President in all of its statements as it negotiates his future.

On Friday, in his first public appearance since the coup, the army allowed him to preside over a university graduation ceremony.

In its latest statement on Friday, the military said it has been making "steady progress" toward its objectives since its deployment of soldiers and armoured vehicles in the coup.

"The operation remains solid," it said. "Zimbabweans are being requested to be patient."

The military said it is seeking "a peaceful, united, investor-friendly and prosperous Zimbabwe."

But it also told the business community that it should "adopt realistic prices" – an indication that the military, like the Mugabe regime, regards the economy as something to be fixed by command.

Senior sources from Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party tell Reuters they're drafting a plan to dismiss the 93-year-old leader on Sunday, and if he refuses, he'll be impeached two days later. Graham Mackay reports.

Reuters

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